Verdict is in! GUILTY of MURDER ONE - Hung Jury On Penalty Phase

[kscornfed]

Oh, yeah, I remember McDuff.

mcduff is the poster child for what's wrong with the law. this guy was so evil and so cruel that i almost got physically sick when i read what he put his victims through. burning a victim's vagina with cigarettes just for fun, for example. he was the worst stone cold killer i ever read about---EVER.

he got THREE death sentences, and still he got out. he killed his next victim 3 days after he was released. can you even imagine how those jurors felt---who sent him to death row, only to see him released to kill again?

 

[TXProfessional]

I have mixed feelings about professional jurors, but certainly potential jurors should be required take some sort of aptitude test to determine logic and comprehension. As it stands now, the only qualifications to serve on any jury, is to read, write and speak english, geez.

I do too Hindsight. My thought is that we need to have a minimal qualifying test/questionnaire for people to be jurors.

And I truly believe that we should have a stringent qualifying process for Death Penalty cases--perhaps naming them something along the line of a Death Qualified Juror/Jury.

Outofstatelawyer, what are your thoughts?

 

[MidwestMama]

Do we know if it was the 4 woman for life and 8 men for death?? I don't have the time to read and catch every news source and have fallen behind!

I don't understand all the hate for HLN. Sure they make money and speculate just as many do here and other places. That's the world we live in now. Nancy didn't miss a beat on her show last night and her sharp wit is what makes me continue to love her despite her few faults! I don't even mind JVM as I think she makes interesting points.

I guess this penalty phase verdict is proof of the weaknesses in our justice system. I commend the jurors who held strong for death! God bless them! I would be afraid her sentence would be reduced at some point with life and she would get parole, but being realistic, statistically speaking, I could probably accept LWOP, although people have gotten out with that sentence. I do think Jodi's attractiveness works in her favor.

bbm

I do think NG often has good insights and comments but two things make it unbearable for me to watch her.

1. She YELLS all the time. FGS, we hear you! It is very anxiety inducing to have someone yelling all the time!

2. She asks a question and then INTERUPTS her guests ALL THE TIME. If a guest is rambling on I can understand speaking up and politely ending their lecture, but she just starts talking over them and continues talking until the guest finally realizes it and just quits talking. That drives me CRAZY!

 

[azwriter]

I have mixed feelings about professional jurors, but certainly potential jurors should be required take some sort of aptitude test to determine logic and comprehension. As it stands now, the only qualifications to serve on any jury, is to read, write and speak english, geez.

Good post. But you forgot one other requirement - to raise your right, not your left, hand when sworn in as a juror.

 

[ShadyLady]

I hope JuanM hits the abuse issue directly next time.

Lenora Walker the lady that wrote the book on domestic violence said Jodi did not have the profile of a battered women. Get people like her to combat the abuse charges. Also, put the emails in context and show more of Jodi's aggressive and manipulative behavior toward Travis' friends. Also, her history of lying and stalking, and her passive aggressive behavior. Jodi has no shrinking violet.

Bet juror 8 did not vote for felony murder, several of them gave JA a break from the beginning. AND he could not believe at first that a young pretty women could commit that type of murder? My first thought when seeing JA was what kind of women could commit that kind of murder....totally different perspective.

And JuanM aggressiveness in court? Does he follow the ALV school of demeanor?

Juror's explanations hold no water for me. He spoke up publicly, so that means I can.

 

[coup de grace]

We have heard it was 8 for death, 4 for life.
Anything else is pure speculation at this point.

Thanks. I'm speculating that it was 8 men for death and the woman let their mothering nature take over stronger than their common sense. Guessing...

 

[raisincharlie]

Agree.

1 -YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT
2 - ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU IN A COURT OF LAW.
3 - YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO TALK TO A LAWYER AND HAVE HIM PRESENT WHILE YOU ARE BEING QUESTIONED.
4 - IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE A LAWYER, ONE WILL BE APPOINTED TO REPRESENT YOU BEFORE ANY QUESTIONING IF YOU WISH.
5 - YOU CAN DECIDE AT ANY TIME TO EXERCISE THESE RIGHTS AND NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR MAKE ANY STATEMENTS.

I guess I missed the part that disclaims it all and tells the suspect to go ahead and act a fool, make yourself look as dangerous and as murderous as you are because even though we've warned your dumb a$$, it could be deemed prejudicial and will never be shown to your jury.

You just pushed all my buttons :floorlaugh:

I could not agree with you more ! What was given in this trial was a charcater assassination of a much loved man without proof for any of it - can you say prejudicial ? You have a defendant who blatantly lies to the police, her own family, a jury, and the entire court. Who molds her allocution around the lies, absorbs parts of Travis into her ability to serve, openly contradicts the family VIS's and who just happened to be a baby at one time.

 

[LambChop]

I will disagree on part of what you said. I am a prime example of losing touch with technology. I am also out of touch to a point with how the generation after me views relationships etc. Just last night my oldest was texting somebody. I asked her who and she said some boy's name. Back in my day, boys called the house.

I got a new phone. Took me a week to figure out how to answer it. I had to get my teenager to figure some stuff out for me. I do get how people do not communicate by telephone anymore but text, Twitter, and Facebook inbox more.

I'm not saying anybody is stupid. I am saying that times have changed and it is hard to keep up and there are big differences in the way the different generations operate. It's all that Gen X, Y, etc stuff.

And it changes daily. Very hard to keep up with.

 

[deanna82437]

Several of the reporters have said Jodi demanded they give her base, powder, shadow and waterproof mascara; not film her putting it on; not film the prison stripes and cuffs.

Now, what I want to know is why she was allowed to keep this stuff in her cell. No pencils or fungus cream, but makeup?[/QUOTE]

BBM

I was thinking the same thing yesterday. She probably never washed her face after the interviews, lol.

Quote may be messed up, but is there a link that says she was allowed to keep the makeup? I was under the assumption that a network makeup person applied it for her interviews. TIA

 

[JSR]

Also just thought of something you know how enraged and horrified we were at Jodi holding up her "survivor" shirt?? Well if what the foreman just said in his interview then it appears the jury would NOT have had the same reaction we did to the shirt. They did believe she was abused and as such WAS a survivor. So maybe her statement to them actually worked and didn't come across as it did to the rest of us???

All I can say is thank god we got the guilty murder 1 verdict. Looks like it could have gone the other way. At least a little.

 

[ShadyLady]

rose, thanks for posting this....JVM took so much verbal bashing because she too ran him down....she wasn't alone!!

I was going to comment on this last night. It bothered me that people were dumping on JVM.

First off, I hate Jerry Springer shows..........SOOOOOO, I don't watch them!

JVM was doing her job!!

 

[DAWN TREADER]

With all due respect I have never had a problem looking at Jodi Arias and believing she isn't capable of murder and in the worst way imaginable.

While others may find it hard and even impossible I would ask them to remember women are capable of a lot of things including saving lives through courageous and even self sacrificing efforts. Case in point, just one example: Stephanie Decker

http://abcnews.go.com/US/hero-mom-stephanie-decker-recounts-saving-kids-tornado/story?id=15854664

I wish someone would have asked the foreperson if he noticed how low Jodi Arias's chair was and whether it occurred to him that could have been a defense strategy to make her look a certain way ...

 

[coup de grace]

I'm going to guess some of these jurors have never heard of "black widows" and how many got away with multiple murders...

Course miss jodi ain't that good with her game as she couldn't even get anyone to buy her a ring LOL

Too damn bad for her she didn't use her higher I.Q. and just walk away and put some perspective into the fact she got used for her willing *advertiser censored* star charms. Travis should have reported all her stalking behavior!! He shouldn't have talked to the loon after she moved to MESA but got a restraining order!!

 

[aoibhinn]

I think Willmott did a good job in her Closings. If for some reason the County Attorney refuses to retry, Jodi can thank Willmott for saving her life so she can donate her hair and sell her t shirts.

My BBM.

It was Wilmott's big moment. The telling reaction is just after the verdict announcement, when she turns to a crying Jodi with a smile on her face. That interaction speaks volumes.

I don't blame the jury one bit. They had limited information on which to base their verdict. Few people ever have dealings with a true female sociopath. They are rare. With the limited information at their disposal, I can understand how they came to that verdict. They were not given enough to join the dots correctly and get a full picture. It would have appeared to them that there had to be something 'missing'. They mistook Travis' complete frustration for abuse. Even Travis had her pegged at the end.

 

[TexMex]

Thanks for the info TexMex. Did you happen to get my PM?

I will check TX

 

[Kensie]

After listening to the brief statement/answers on GMA this AM by the Jury Foreman, I am truly surprised they bought the emotional and verbal abuse BUT he didn't mention believing the worse stuff Arias spewing the physical abuse and pedophilia junk!!! Thank goodness.

I hope that most and/or all take the time (after rest and relaxation) to learn "the rest of the story" they did not have privy to during the trial. They will surely find out how much Arias is deceptive, manipulative and violently evil she really can be and would be!!!

JMHO

I was floored that the jury believed there was emotional and verbal abuse based on extremely limited texts. Who hasn't made a person mad and been called every name in the book??? I guess I am extremely emotionally and verbally abused.
This whole trial has been one upset after another except for Murder 1 with extreme cruelty.

This was my first trial I ever followed and I don't think I can stomach another one for a while.

 

[DairyGirl]

I just listened to the jury foreman. Some thoughts are that of course he thought Travis was verbally abusive. If all you knew was what he said, especially on May 26, he does come off pretty rough. We know what preceded it and no one (but JA) knows the real trigger. In context, while still not appropriate, it didn't mean Travis was abusive. It just meant he was human and he lost it. At least when he lost it no one was dead. We all have our breaking point and no one is at their best when they get there. To be judged on a whole from a very small part is sad. I am grateful that she got murder 1. I am grateful that she will never walk among us again, God willing. We all know the DP doesn't mean the DP. No woman has been executed since 1930 in Az. Yes, she could earn some privileges to have more time out of her cell but she will never be free. That is all that matters.
I know how badly Travis's family wanted the DP and still does. I pray they get what they need to move on.

 

[HarvestMoon]

I hope the newly convicted smart mouths a fellow felon, and as a result she goes out the way Jeffrey Dahmer did.

 

[Gin]

Bringing in age as a component in this trial keeps it real. Advertisers use demographics to tailor to their targeted audience. It isn't a dig, just the fact of life.

ALV not understanding what she was looking at and that what she did have were snippets of a larger conversation escaped her and a few members of the jury. Those jurors looked to her for guidance when other jurors would have instantly understood that Travis not responding for 3 hours did NOT mean he was angry during that time. It simply meant he didn't get back to his phone and look at the message for three hours. Then he picked up the conversation and responded.

ALV didn't get that partly because she had no clue what texting was all about and partly because as she pointed out, in HER generation things weren't done like that. People didn't speak to each other like that. The words held a different meaning for her because she was basing it on her social culture.

JMO--We choose to be culturally literate..it's not a function of age. There are folks with cultural blinders on of all ages.

 

[JSR]

BBM I think you're probably right, and that decision may have entered their minds very early on. Logical, normally thinking people look for normal explanations for events. On the other hand, this jury -- all of them -- voted guilty for premeditated, aggravated murder. If they did allow that "snapping" nonsense to enter into the equation, they were not paying attention to the jury charges they received -- or the defense argument, which did not offer that as an explanation. Unfortunately, wouldn't be the first time juries didn't adhere to the legal instructions they were given to guide their decision-making process.

IMO we are so lucky that we didn't get manslaughter!!! So lucky because it does seem like they think this abuse caused the murder and it's a small step closer to her "snapping". We should all be very grateful.